Divide and reduce: systematic review and mathematical modelling of the impact of within-farm compartmentalisation on avian influenza transmission in poultry

150-200 words): Airborne transmission of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) is animportant transmission route among domestic poultry, but less effective than the classical faecal-oral route.Therefore, flock compartmentalisation, consisting in physically separating birds into groups, is expected to reduce the spread of AIVs in poultry.In this study, we quantified the impact of compartmentalisation on within-flock AIV spread by (i) performing a systematic review of transmission experiments studying airborne transmission of AIVs and(ii) reanalysing the data from 30 experiments in 13 eligible studies with mathematical models.When compared to transmission between birds in the same pen, between-pen transmission was systematically reduced for highly pathogenic AIVs (median reduction: 96%, min: 83%max: 100%).For low pathogenicity AIVs, 22/26 estimates indicated a reduced between-pen transmission, but results ranged from 100% reduction to 160% increase.Estimated parameters were then used in a deterministic mechanistic model to illustrate the potential impact of compartmentalisation on highly pathogenic AIVs transmission in field conditions, showing https://doi.org/10.